Vancouver added record number of new homes in past 2 years

Vancouver added record number of new homes in past 2 years

There have been 15,404 new homes created in Vancouver in the last two years according to official figures.

The City of Vancouver says it is a record number of homes created and that it is making steady progress towards its target to create 72,000 homes by 2027.

Of the new homes over the past two years, 3,640 are social and supportive homes, 1,300 are laneway homes, 1,851 are purpose-built rental homes, 8,338 are condominiums, and 275 are townhouses.

More than 930 social and supportive homes and over 1,400 purpose-built market rental homes were built in 2018 alone, well above the 2017 number of 750 for those two types combined.

"I'm pleased to see that solid progress is being made less than two years into the housing strategy," said Mayor Kennedy Stewart. "The report shows approvals for several types of housing are at an all-time high but are also where we need to work harder to create more affordable options - especially for minimum and low-wage households."

Of the homes approved in 2018, more than half were family-sized (2-3 bedrooms) as part of a scheme to provide larger family-orientated apartments and townhouses.

"Overall we're moving towards the 10-year Housing Vancouver targets, with approvals and completions for social and supportive housing, family housing, laneways and market condominiums well above the annual targets," said Gil Kelley, General Manager of Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability.

Homes for those earning less than $50K
The latest Housing Vancouver Annual Progress Report highlights that more homes are needed for those earning less than $50,000 a year and the Council is looking at several ways to do this.

"Options we're pursuing include continuing to enhance our rental incentive programs, looking at how and where to introduce rental-only zoning, and continuing to work with other levels of government to encourage rental homes that are affordable to residents earning less than $50,000 per year, including those with very low incomes," said Kelley.